MIDNIGHT CONQUEST: Book 1 of the Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles by Arial Burnz Page B

inquired.
    “Baked hedgehog,” he replied, offering a piece of meat at the end of his dagger. “Would you like to try some, milady?”
    Lilias wrinkled her nose. “Oh nay, Davina!” She grabbed Davina’s outstretched hand and gawked at the Gypsy as if he were mad. “Thank you, but nay!”
    Davina laughed at her mother’s reluctance. “Come, M’ma. Be bold!” Davina took the offered meat and blew on the flesh to ease the heat. She sniffed and her mouth watered. “Oh, this smells divine!” Placing the morsel in her mouth, she explored the new taste with slow and deliberate chewing, savoring the succulent flavor. “Almost like rabbit.”
    Her mother still shook her head and even clamped her lips tight to get her message across. She pulled Davina away as Davina thanked the man for the sample.
    Lilias nudged her daughter and pointed, indicating the tent painted with a golden-haired woman touching an array of cards, the midnight background and mystical symbols around her. Standing beside the flapped entrance, the old woman beckoned them closer. Davina’s heart pounded against her rib cage.
    “You must have your palm read,” the elderly woman said when they approached, her voice thick with a French accent.
    “You seemed very interested in my daughter earlier this afternoon, madame ,” Lilias said.
    Davina locked eyes with the Gypsy’s. “M’ma, this is the Gypsy I came down to the village to visit those many years ago.” Lilias expressed her delight, and Davina stepped forward, taking the woman’s offered hands. “ Bon soir , Amice.”
    “It is good to see you, child.” Amice stepped back and inspected Davina. “Oh, chérie ! You have grown into such a beautiful woman! It is a miracle I recognized you as we passed! How I have missed our little conversations by the fire. I was delighted each day you came back.” Amice regarded Lilias. “It is plain to see you have passed on your beauty, madame .”
    “You are too kind, Amice.” Lilias grinned with pride at her daughter. “You must have your fortune told, sweet.”
    “Then you, madame .”
    “Oh, nay. I’m sure my future holds nothing worth discussing.” Lilias’s features turned down, weighted with sadness, which she tried to mask with a smile, but Davina knew her mother mourned for her husband Parlan and her son Kehr. “Knowledge of the future would benefit my daughter more than it would me.” She turned to Davina. “I will bide for you here, sweet.” Amice ushered Lilias to sit by the fire pit and handed her a clay cup filled with steaming tea. Two young men Davina recognized from the township stumbled out of the tent, laughing, and stopped short to prevent colliding with her. They bowed their apologies and left.
    While her mother and Amice conversed privately, Davina pushed away her growing uneasiness before she entered the tent. She couldn’t let her apprehensions destroy this exciting moment, upon her at long last. The spicy aroma of incense drifted through her senses, and her body tingled from the memories of the last time she stepped into this exotic world—memories she revisited time and time again over nine years.
    She turned and faced him.

Chapter Four
    After the lads and their antics left the tent, a woman stepped through the opening. A soft evening breeze blew by, bringing her scent into the space, and Broderick’s loins tightened at the familiar aroma of rose oil and her blood. He closed his eyes and inhaled deep, the smells thrusting him back into the dream he experienced upon awakening. Settling a curious but lusting gaze upon her, he crossed his arms over his chest and waited for her to advance, listening to what thoughts he could glean across the space. Even as she stood in the shadows, Broderick saw her eyes roam over his form, examining him, hints of desire floating on her rambling thoughts. She advanced into the light of the hanging oil lamp, allowing Broderick a more colorful view of her figure. It is her. Davina. His